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President Donald Trump on Friday issued an executive order meant to keep the Army-Navy Game in its exclusive time window in December, though the enforceability of such a move is uncertain.
The Army-Navy Game window has come into focus over the past year around the discussion of College Football Playoff expansion. Conference leaders support growing the postseason, but any expansion would likely create an additional round of games to be played the second weekend of December, which for years has featured the Army-Navy Game in the afternoon and the Heisman Trophy ceremony later that night. The conflict remains a logistical hurdle. It’s also the final weekend protected for college football by the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 before the NFL is allowed to play on Saturdays.
“Such scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War,” the order reads. “Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that no college football game, specifically college football’s CFP or other postseason games, be broadcast in a manner that directly conflicts with the Army‑Navy Game.”
It’s unclear how legal or enforceable such an order is, as executive orders are only directives for federal agencies and the executive branch. This order states that the Federal Communications Commission will work with the CFP committee, the NCAA and media partners to protect the Army-Navy window. Last July, Trump issued an executive order around the expansion of scholarships, banning pay-for-play and working to advance more policies, but it has gone largely ignored by the college sports world.
In January, on the eve of a CFP meeting of conference commissioners, Trump posted that he would create an executive order to protect the Army-Navy window. CFP staff and others were unaware that post was coming. The Big Ten and SEC hold the power to make decisions on expansion, but the CFP still handles the event’s logistics.
Earlier this month, Trump held a roundtable of college and pro sports administrators, along with members of Congress, to discuss the SCORE Act in Congress and other issues around player compensation, transfers, employment and more. The meeting ended with a frustrated Trump announcing he would sign an executive order within a week. One has not yet been released.
For most of its history, the Army-Navy Game had been played on the final weekend of November or the first weekend of December, alongside other college football games. It moved to the second weekend of December in 2009 at the urging of then-CBS executive Mike Aresco as a way to draw more attention and better ratings for CBS. It worked, and Army-Navy is annually one of the most viewed games of the season. CBS holds the rights for the game through 2038.
But the move to a 12-team Playoff in 2024 created issues for Army-Navy. The game takes place after the CFP selections are made, meaning if either team were to make the field, they would still have their rivalry game before the CFP, instead of a week of rest and preparation. Army joined the American Conference in 2024 and won the conference championship game a week before playing Navy, which is also in the conference. Non-CFP bowl games have also moved onto the second weekend of December, played at night.
Army head coach Jeff Monken told The Athletic in February that he would prefer to play the game on Thanksgiving weekend for those Playoff reasons.
“I think Army-Navy is a huge part of the history of college football, and what it is today, even,” he said. “Give us a four-hour block on Thanksgiving, or on Friday of Thanksgiving, or on Saturday of Thanksgiving, and give us a four-hour block, and just say nobody else plays during this four-hour block. That’s still protecting the game.”
Navy officials pushed back on Monken’s idea of moving the game. Trump’s order only mentions keeping the game on the second weekend of December.
“We are deeply appreciative of President Trump’s executive order preserving a dedicated window for the Army–Navy Game — America’s Game — a tradition that represents far more than football by honoring our service academies and the mission of developing leaders for our nation,” Navy athletic director Michael Kelly said in a statement to The Athletic. “Maintaining its exclusivity ensures the country can come together to recognize the sacrifice, commitment, and readiness that are essential to our military. We are also encouraged that this step helps create a pathway for Navy Football to participate in the College Football Playoff when earned, allowing us to both preserve tradition and embrace opportunity.”
